Deflationary policies for debt repayment

The World Bank and the IMF Spring meetings begin this week in Washington. And with the worst sovereign debt crisis in decades, the pronouncements at these meetings will be monitored closely by many for the relief that debt-distressed countries in the Global South can expect. However, regardless of what is discussed and announced, the policies of the World Bank and the IMF will continue to safeguard the interests of global finance capital to the d

A US “Kaputa”, a Lankan “Nariya” and a Presidential “Feast”

The encounter between the fox and crow is an ancient tale heard by most Sri Lankans in their childhood days. The crow has a vadai or kavun or piece of cheese in its beak. The crafty fox wants it and flatters the crow into thinking it is a harmonious singer with a sweet voice. The fox entreats the crow to sing. The foolishly vain crow opens its mouth to sing and drops the titbit it has in its beak. The smart fox runs off with it, leaving behind a

New Year, tough times and animal abuse - E

We wish our readers a happy and bountiful New Year, as the country celebrates its cultural festival this month. On the 13th of this month, the two major communities in our country....

Sri Lanka best place for solo female travel and belittling country

I have written in these pages that Sri Lankans, more than anyone else, have done a spectacular job in disparaging their country at home and abroad. The genesis of this particular penchant....

ILO’s Gender Pay Gap report; a scathing indictment against Sri Lanka

Despite Sri Lanka having been boasting about producing the world’s first woman Prime Minister and two women heads of government whose tenures spanned 23 years of the 76 years since Independence, the reports published by international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) do not allow the leaders of the country including those two women leaders to boast that they have

Role of Buddhism in fight against caste oppression in Tamil Nadu

Buddhism flourished in ancient India, including Tamil Nadu from the early years of the Christian era till about the 14th century. At its height, it enjoyed royal patronage and was the religion of the elite which at that time comprised the urban and mercantile classes. Buddhism ceased to exist in India in the medieval period for a variety of reasons, and saw a revival of sorts only in the closing years of the 19th century. The discoveries of Bri

Ex-President Sirisena draws an India connection - EDITORIAL

Ex-President Sirisena is once again in the news for all the wrong reasons. Hardly had the ink dried on news stories of his sudden....

Auspicious times! Exposing incompetence or astrology a pseudoscientific myth?

During the Sinhala Avurudda, also known as the Sinhala and Hindu New Year, people adhere to various religious rituals and cultural .....

Ukraine is fighting an increasingly desperate war

There is a war in Ukraine? It seems to have been forgotten by everyone–except by Ukraine, Russia and their respective...

Capt. Navin to lead WCOBU’s 150th year celebrations

Wesley College Old Boys Union (WCOBU) witnessed the unanimous reappointment of Capt. Navin de Silva as its President for the period....

Avurudhu, Ramadan and Easter Sunday amid a crumbling economy

The trio of festivals-the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Ramadan and Easter Sunday fall within a short time of each other. The deadly Easter Sunday massacre of innocent civilians in churches and hotels in 2019 hit one of our biggest exchange earners badly. The Easter Sunday bombings also marked the beginning of a dark era that saw the crumbling of our country’s economy which had just begun to take off after the near three-decade-long terrorist war w

A terrorist attack senselessly politicized

Despite former President Maithripala Sirisena seeming to have landed in hot water over his recent statement on the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, so long as his motive is not clear one should not jump the gun to call him a fool. Sirisena while talking to media in Kandy claimed on March 22 that he knew who really carried out the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks and that he was prepared to disclose the information if the judiciary ordered him to do s

Karuna loses Eastern battle but Prabhakaran loses Eelam war

The once-powerful Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) waged war against the Sri Lankan state for over thirty years. The LTTE known popularly as the Tigers was the determining force in Sri Lankan politics for nearly two decades. The decline of the LTTE began in 2004 when its Batticaloa and Amparai district special commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan alias “Col” Karuna led an eastern tiger revolt against the LTTE supremo Veluppillai Prabha

A face-off that promises a surprise ending - EDITORIAL

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and his camp received a positive response from the National People’s Power (NPP) for a debate....

Attack on Iran: Amid lies and deception, Gaza war may escalate into a regional conflict

The April 1 attack by Israel on the Iranian consular office in the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing several people including a senior Revolutionary....

World Health Day: ‘My Health, My Right’

Sri Lanka’s public health service is facing one of its worst crises since independence. President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna government need to give much more priority to help the public health service recover; because as the cliché goes: “health is wealth”. With public health trade unions staging regular strikes during the past two years, poor people have had to travel a long way to a public hospital only to be tol

The intelligent public might not be interested in Kachchativu

When a politician says, ‘the intelligent public knows and cannot be fooled’, what he or she (our representative in parliament) really means is that the public doesn’t know and can be fooled. It’s similar to a lady saying ‘no’ when what she really means is ‘yes’; take for example the lady who appears in a television commercial and says ‘no’ when her husband wants to know whether she has had enough washing clothes by hand and whether he could purc

Kachchativu Island Debate: Political fodder, No Serious Intentions

It is quite common that the issue involving Kachchativu, a tiny island in the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka, becomes a hot political debate in India–particularly in the state of Tamil Nadu–when elections are around the corner in that country.

Hopes of peace dashed as confused US faces dogged Netanyahu

The US is blowing hot and cold on its policy on the Gaza war and is showing inconsistency in its actions. In contrast, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doggedly pursuing his uncompromising line on the war, disregarding rising opposition and even a revolt by the ultra-orthodox Jews in his homeland. The net result of all this is that the prospects of peace in Gaza have receded further. And with Netanyahu bent on attacking Rafah, wit

Sri Lanka’s sovereignty of Kachchativu was never in doubt

The sovereignty of Kachchativu Island which Sri Lanka had exercised throughout history is once again disputed....

Child pregnancies, minimum age for marriage and consent debate - EDITORIAL

With the government on Monday withdrawing the Bill that was gazetted on February 9 this year to amend the Penal Code....

Easter Sunday attacks: Maithripala’s Indian hand claim and its far-reaching implications on bilateral ties

Having languished in relative obscurity and been found responsible by the Supreme Court for failing to prevent the Easter Sunday....

Modi wants Katchchatheevu-its election time in Tamil Nadu

Speaking at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh,(around 2232 Kms away from Chennai) on Monday, Indian Premier Narendra Modi suddenly found fault with Indira Gandhi for signing an agreement with Sri Lanka relinquishing Indian claims to the island of Katchchatheevu. Yes, you guessed it. It is election time in India and the BJP has never come to power in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India. S. Ramanujam, a retired f

Mushrooming Alliances! Exploring pros and cons of coalition politics

Pre-electoral alliances and post-election coalitions among political parties have emerged as significant features in contemporary politics. An examination of this political phenomenon is crucial for understanding election dynamics and the processes of government formation and sustainability. It is heartening to observe a relative increase in studies dedicated to alliances and coalitions over the past decade. However, despite this progress, sever

Is the Chinese economy doomed as some forecasts say?

While social media is packed with doomsday predictions of the American economy (Europe isn’t doing any better, either), there is an equal or greater number of videos forecasting the decline.....

Lanka’s foreign debt and Chinese puzzle - EDITORIAL

In March this year, President Wickremesinghe in an interview said Lanka was committed to repaying its debt within the period 2027-2042. The president said he expected the ongoing....

Anti-privatization statements will depress bid prices: Will JVP be held accountable?

Sunil Handunetti, a senior and respected leader of the JVP, has urged the government not to sell (and potential buyers not to buy) state-owned enterprises such as the SriLankan Airlines, SLT.....

How LTTE’s ‘Good Friday’ attack crushed Karuna’s Eastern revolt

The course of war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan armed forces was drastically altered by the 2004 Eastern revolt headed by former tiger commander of the Batticaloa and Amparai districts Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan alias “Col” Karuna. The LTTE was split vertically and horizontally as a result and gradually weakened. By 2007 the LTTE ceased having territorial control in the Eastern province. This article

Electoral reforms while elections are on doorstep

The Cabinet on March 18 approved a proposal to reform the electoral system that will see a hybrid system for parliamentary representation where 160 members would be appointed by the First Past-The-Post system while 65 members would be elected under the Proportional Representation (PR) system. A statement issued by the Government Information Department said that the proposal made by the Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Refor

Hypocrisy, double standards and Lanka’s burgeoning spa industry

Yesterday, Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa informed the media that in the police divisions of Negombo, Kochchikade and Seeduwa, police raided 53 spas. According to the spokesperson, 145 suspects including 137 women and eight men were taken into custody. If this statement is correct, it would appear that many men do not frequent these establishments of alleged ill-fame. Only eight men were found in the 53 spas which were raided. It also makes the